Refractory/heat insulating panels

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a refractory/heat insulating panel used in buildings and structures which must have a refractory performance. In the refractory/heat insulating panel (801), the mechanical strength and the fireproofing performance at the joint portions, which are weak portions in the panel, are increased by integrally forming inorganic boards (831) in the male and female joint portions (832, 836), filling a light-weight aggregate in the core material located at the male and female joint portions at a high density, or making the density of the core material at the joint portions higher than that at the center of the panel. Further, a nonwoven fabric is inserted between a core material (829) and a surfacing material (802) and between the core material (829) and a backing material (822), the surfaces of the surfacing material and the backing material facing the core material are embossed, a layer of isocyanurate foam and/or a layer of polyurethane foam are provided in the core material, or a wooden reinforcing material or a pipe-shaped member is buried in the core material to improve the adhesion between the core material and the surfacing material and between the core material and the backing material, the strength of the entire panel, refractory performance, etc. These structures also increase the strength and the refractory performance of the joint portions.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to refractory/heat insulating panels whichare used as interior wall panels, exterior wall panels, roofingmaterials, ceiling materials, floor panels, partitions, fire doors, etc.of buildings and structures, which are required to be fire resistant,and more particularly to refractory/heat insulating panels which arelight in weight, which have excellent fire resistance, thermalinsulation and smoking resistance, and which have enhanced mechanicalstrength.

BACKGROUND ART

There are a number of known refractory panels for fire resistantstructures which include, for example, Japanese Unexamined PatentPublication (kokai) No. 237756/1992, Japanese Unexamined Utility ModelPublication (kokai) No. 185535/1982, Japanese Unexamined Utility ModelPublication (Kokai) No. 1538/1983, Japanese Utility Model Publication(kokoku) No. 15444/1988, and Japanese Patent Publication (kokoku) No.18230/1990. These prior art refractory panels have drawbacks asdescribed below and improvement has so far been demanded.

First, the fire resistance of the joint parts of panels has turned outto be a weak point which affects the refractory performance of thestructure of panels. In other words, deformation of a surfacing materialand a backing material of a panel caused by the difference of thermalconduction under a high temperature makes crevices at the joint parts ofpanels, through which heat and flames spread to the opposite side. Thus,the 1-hour refractory construction test of JIS-A-1304 (JapaneseIndustrial Standards A-1304) cannot be passed.

Secondly, when a core material is formed by mixing a stock solution ofresol-type phenol and a curing agent, and delivering the mixture for afoaming reaction, scores of percent, based on the total weight of themixture, of condensed water generated during the reaction are held inthe phenolic foams. The captured water is vaporized during the curingperiod of the product or after panels are assembled due to the change ofthe ambient temperature, etc., and the residual vapor is confinedbetween the surfacing material and the core material of the refractorymaterial because of no means of escape for the vapor. Thus, the surfaceof the panel swells, warps, etc. and the panel is adversely affectedwith passage of time.

Thirdly, the adhesion between the surfacing material and the corematerial or between the backing material and the core material is soweak that the surfacing material or the backing material easily separatefrom the core material by a slight impact at the adhesive portion ofthese materials.

On the other hand, there are disclosed techniques for improving theadhesion of refractory panels in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication(kokai) Nos. 10359/1987 and 185613/1988. Techniques for improving thefire protecting performance by incorporating reinforcing fibers or shortfibers to foams are also known. However, since such conventionaltechniques are constituted such that mat-like fibers are used as anaggregate, or short fibers are incorporated as an aggregate, viscosityis increased at the time of foaming, and it becomes difficult touniformly impregnate a stock solution of unfoamed phenol into anaggregate for achieving a uniform foaming because of the unevenimpregnation. Moreover, when short fibers are used, a large amount offibers are needed, and yet foams of a high density must be achieved.This leads to low productivity and poor thermal insulation performance,increase of weight, and high costs, disadvantageously.

At present, refractory panels of this kind are attached to a wallsubstrate from the exterior side, i.e., from outside of a room. However,under such conditions that the space between buildings is too narrow toset up scaffolding for the assembly of panels from the exterior side, asseen in densely built-up areas of big cities, this construction methodis hardly employed.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to solve theaforementioned problems and to provide a refractory/heat insulatingpanel which has improved strength and excellent refractory/heatinsulating performance. Further, another object of the present inventionis to provide a structure of a joint portion for a refractory/heatinsulating panel which promises more excellent assembly in suchrefractory/heat insulating panel. A further object of the presentinvention is to provide a structure of a refractory/heat insulatingpanel with which a panel can be attached to a wall substrate from therear side of the panel, i.e., from the room side in the case where thepanel can be attached with difficulty from the outer side.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

A first feature of the refractory/heat insulating panels according tothe present invention is that a noncombustible inorganic board isintegrally formed with the joint portion of the panel. The inorganicboard is formed of, for example, a calcium silicate board, a calciumcarbonate board, a plaster board, a pearlite cement board, a rock woolboard, a slate board, an ALC board, a PC board, other inorganiclight-weight non-foaming and foaming materials, composite boards ofthese boards or materials, or super-high density resins (such as highdensity phenolic foams). It enhances the strength of the joint portionwhich is relatively weak to prevent easy deformation of the jointportion, thereby improving fire resistance of the panel. In addition,since the inorganic board is capable of absorbing condensed watergenerated during the foaming reaction of a core material made ofphenolic foam, it prevents the adhesion between a core material and asurfacing material or a backing material from being deteriorated tosuppress the separation of layers. Moreover, a further benefit can beobtained that the panel surface is kept flat, preventing swelling orwarping of a surfacing material or a backing material.

A second feature of the refractory/heat insulating panels according tothe present invention is that a nonwoven fabric is interposed between asurfacing material and a core material and/or between a backing materialand a core material. The nonwoven fabric is a sheet made of fibers suchas of polyester type, nylon type, boron type, carbon type, alumina type,silicon carbide type, or aramid type. The presence of a nonwoven fabricis effective in that the core material which undergoes reaction iscontrolled spontaneously to pass the nonwoven fabric. This issignificant, because between the surfacing material or backing materialand the core material, a thin adhesive layer of a high density to whichis impregnated part of the core material is formed under such conditionsand properties that permit the maximum adhesion to integrate thesurfacing material, adhesive layer, core material and the backingmaterial altogether. Furthermore, since the uneven surface of thenonwoven fabric and pores are filled with the core material, thenonwoven fabric exhibits an anchoring effect to intensify the adhesionbetween the surfacing material or the backing material and the corematerial, leading to an enhancement in the mechanical strength of therefractory/heat insulating panel. The enhanced mechanical strengthfurther leads to improved flatness of decorative and backing surfaces,and also to improved assembly due to the elongated pitch of fastening tothe building frame. Especially when venting grooves having anapproximately U-shaped section are formed on the nonwoven fabric at apredetermined pitch to constitute air passages between the nonwovenfabric and the surfacing or backing material, the condensed waterremaining in the core material over the curing period of therefractory/heat insulating panel after it is manufactured or even afterpanels are assembled can be effectively released outside from the panel.With the air passages, deformation (swelling, warping, etc. of thesurface) of the panel with time after manufacture can be prevented. Inaddition, when the surfacing material and the backing material are ofsteel plates, there is also a secondary advantage that rusting anddeterioration can be prevented because acidic substances contained inthe core material can be discharged with the water content to a certainextent.

A third feature of the present invention is that a light-weightaggregate is packed closely at least at the joint sides of the corematerial of the refractory/heat insulating panel. Materials used for thelight-weight aggregate include, for example, pearlite, glass beads,plaster slag, talc, and shirasu balloons. They enhance the strength ofthe joint portion which is a weak point of a refractory/heat insulatingpanel, to greatly improve the fire resistance of the panel. With this, arefractory/heat insulating panel which passes the 1-hour refractoryconstruction test of JIS-A-1304 can be obtained.

A fourth feature of the present invention is that a core material of therefractory/heat insulating material is formed so that the density of theside edge of the core material facing the joint portion is greater thanthat of the central part of the panel. With this structure, the fireresistance of the joint portion, which is a weak point of arefractory/heat insulating panel, is greatly improved, and therefore, arefractory/heat insulating panel which passes the 1-hour refractoryconstruction test of JIS-A-1304 can be obtained. Moreover, since thecentral portion of a panel has a relatively high strength and fireresistance, the density of a core material can be suppressed to a lowerlevel, thereby reducing the weight and cost when compared with theconventional products of the same performance.

A fifth feature of the present invention is that the surface of asurfacing material of a refractory/heat insulating panel which faces acore material and/or the surface of a backing material of arefractory/heat insulating panel which faces a core material isemboss-finished. The uneven surface obtained by embossing, while playinga role of an anchor, intensifies the adhesion between the core materialand the surfacing material or the backing material, and enhances themechanical strength of the refractory/heat insulating panel. Also, thestrain which has been produced at the time of molding the surfacing andbacking materials is apparently suppressed on the surface to present abeautiful appearance. Accordingly, assembly is improved by elongatingthe pitch of fastening to the building frame.

A sixth feature of the present invention is that an isocyanurate foamlayer and/or a polyurethane foam layer are provided in a core materialof the refractory/heat insulating panel. With the isocyanurate foamlayer and/or the polyurethane foam layer, the strength of the overallrefractory/heat insulating panel is greatly enhanced. Moreover, thepanel is made difficult to deform by heat and thus the heat resistanceat the joint portion is markedly improved. In addition, since theisocyanurate foam layer and/or the polyurethane layer function as an airpassage, the condensed water remaining in the core material over thecuring period of the refractory/heat insulating panel after it ismanufactured or even after panels are assembled can be effectivelyreleased outside from the panel. As a result, deformation (swelling,warping, etc. of the surface) of the panel over time after themanufacture can be prevented.

A seventh feature of the present invention is that a wooden reinforcingmaterial is buried in a core material of the refractory/heat insulatingpanel. That is, for example, a grid is formed with wooden skeletonmembers which have a water content of about 15% and which are buried ina core material. With this structure, the mechanical strength of thecore is greatly enhanced. Moreover, since the condensed water producedduring the reaction of the core material is absorbed by the woodenskeleton members, the reaction is not inhibited and effective foamingcan be achieved. Furthermore, changes such as shrinkage can besuppressed because the moisture content in the core material can becontrolled by the wooden skeleton members. In addition, even if waterimmersion should take place, the wooden skeleton members function toexhaust moisture (moisture controlling function). There is also anattendant advantage of the reinforcing material in that the reinforcingmaterial can be directly fastened to the building frame through metalfittings hammered and provided on the rear side if desired. Accordingly,refractory/heat insulating panels which are light and have veryexcellent mechanical strength and fire resistance can be obtained.

An eighth feature of the present invention is that a pipe-shaped membercapable of passing air therethrough is buried in a core material of therefractory/heat insulating panel. With this structure, a pipe-shapedmember placed in the core material functions as a reinforcing materialfor the core material to enhance the mechanical strength of therefractory/heat insulating panel. As a result, the pitch of fastening tothe building frame at the time of assembly can be made longer. Moreover,since the pipe-shaped member allows the passage of air, the condensedwater remaining in the core material over the curing period of therefractory/heat insulating panel after it is manufactured or even afterpanels are assembled can be effectively released outside from the panel.Therefore, deformation (swelling, warping, etc. of the surface) of thepanel with time after the manufacture can be prevented. In addition,when the surfacing material and the backing material are of steelplates, there is also a secondary advantage that rusting anddeterioration can be prevented because acidic substances contained inthe core material can be discharged with the water content to a certainextent.

According to the present invention, the refractory/heat-insulating panelcomprises a core material which is formed by mixing 50 to 300 parts byweight of aluminum hydroxide, 1 to 25 parts by weight of ammoniumpolyphosphate, 2 to 30 parts by weight of graphite, 2 to 50 parts byweight of a foaming agent, and 10 to 50 parts by weight of a curingagent, all based on 100 parts by weight of resol type phenolic foam, andallowing the mixture to foam and cure. Namely, phenolic foams of a resoltype (hereinafter simply referred to as phenol foams) are generallyprepared by a continuous foam molding method. Their characteristicsinclude noncombustibility, low smoke generation, and low toxicitycompared with other synthetic foams (plastic foams). As to the aluminumhydroxide, it particularly preferably has 0 to 30% water content, agrain size of 10 to 100 microns, and a purity of 90% or more. If such analuminum hydroxide is used, it functions very effectively as aflame-retardant, fire-resisting agent, or a heat-resisting agent. As tothe ammonium polyphosphate, it particularly preferably has a grain sizeof 10 to 100 microns, and such an ammonium polyphosphate functions veryeffectively as a reaction regulator or as a flame-retardant. Graphiteswells by heat in the event of fire and effectively fills the voidswhich have been formed as a result of the carbonization of phenol foams.Therefore, it works very well in preventing the refractory performancefrom being deteriorated by shrinkage of the core material. Preferableexamples of the foaming agent include methylene chloride and carbonates(powders). Preferable curing agents are those of an organic phosphatetype or mixtures of a phosphate type and a PSA type. When thesecomponents are mixed in the above-described proportions, it is possibleto obtain core materials that have optimum properties in terms of stablefoaming, curability, adhesiveness to the surfacing material and thebacking material, etc.

It is preferred that the butt surface of the refractory/heat insulatingpanels be coated using a water-proof coating treatment. Moreover, it ispreferred that a flap be provided from the butt end of the surfacingmaterial to extend over the rear face. When the butt surface is coatedusing the waterproof coating treatment with various paints or by liningwith film seals, rainwater and the like can be effectively preventedfrom entering the butt surface. The flap which extends from the butt endis useful in that when a caulking material is filled in vertical jointsformed between panels, it can be an object to which the caulkingmaterial is adhered. Moreover, the mechanical strength and the flatnessof the surfacing material can also be improved.

With respect to joining or connecting the refractory/heat insulatingpanels as described above, a refractory/heat insulating panel isprovided with a male joint portion at its one joint end and a femalejoint portion at its other joint end, so that two panels are joined whenthe male and the female portions are interlocked with each other. At themale joint portion, an upper protrusion and an inwardly depressedinsertion concave portion are formed in this order. The upper protrusionis formed by outwardly projecting the lower end of one side edge of adecorative surface and downwardly slanting an upper surface of the tipportion, with a fixation groove having a concave cross section beingformed in the middle. It is preferred that at the female joint portion,a cover portion for covering the fixation groove, an insertion groovefor receiving the upper protrusion, and a main convex portion projectingoutwardly and being received by the insertion concave portion are formedin this order. When male and female joint portions having suchstructures are interlocked and joined to each other, the above-mentionedadvantages of the features of the invention can be even more enhanced,and therefore, a refractory/heat insulating panel having an increasedstrength and excellent fire resistance can be provided.

In the above-described joint structure, an inorganic packing material ispreferably interposed between the insertion concave portion of the malejoint portion and the main convex portion of the female joint portionwhich is received by the insertion concave portion, in view that thedimensional errors of the interlocking surfaces can be absorbed by sucha packing material, and what is more, thermal insulation properties andair tightness are enhanced, resulting in improvement in waterproofnessand soundproofness as well as fire resistivity. Examples of theinorganic packing material may include rock wool felt and ceramic wool.If a waterproof packing material is interposed between the upperprotrusion of the male joint portion and the insertion groove of thefemale joint portion which is received by the insertion concave portion,or if a packing material made of EPDM (this material is excellent inweather resistance, heat resistance, ozone resistance, chemicalresistance, etc.) is provided in the fixation groove of the male jointportion, more preferable results are obtained with improvedair-tightness and waterproofness. The waterproof packing material may becommercial products of polyvinyl chlorides, chloroprenes, polyethylenechlorosulfonates, ethylene propylenes, asphalt-impregnated polyurethanesand EPDMs. When space functioning as an air ventilating passage isprovided in the upper protrusion of the male joint portion, thecondensed water produced during the reaction, etc. can be releasedoutside through the passage. As a result, the moisture in therefractory/heat insulating panel can be effectively prevented fromremaining, resulting in an effective prevention of the deterioration ofthe strength of a refractory/heat insulating panel itself.

The following is the feature of mounting a refractory/heat insulatingpanel having the above-described joint structure onto a substrate madeof a long C-shaped steel material which has a rear portion having avertical flat surface, side portions formed by perpendicularly bendingboth lateral edges of said rear portion, and flaps formed by inwardlybending the tip portions of the side portions, thereby forming a C-likecross section. In the present invention, the refractory/heat insulatingpanel is fixed to the substrate material by using a mounting bracketcomposed of a fixation portion and an engagement portion, the fixationportion being provided with a setting section having a vertically flatshape, a fixation section formed by almost perpendicularly bending oneof the side edge portions of said setting section, and an engagementsection having an engagement groove being substantially a U-like shapeand formed by almost perpendicularly bending the other side edge portionof the setting section and further bending the tip portion of the bentportion in a hook-like shape, one or more concave or convex reinforcingrib being formed at the engagement groove; and the engagement portionbeing formed by bending the lower end of the setting section in anapproximately horizontal direction and having a shape which issubstantially the same as the shapes of the end surfaces of the male andfemale joint portions of the refractory/heat insulating panel, andwherein fixation of the refractory/heat insulating panel to thesubstrate material is achieved by interposing the engagement portion ofthe mounting bracket between the male joint portion and the female jointportion of refractory/heat insulating panels, fitting the engagementgroove of the mounting bracket on the flap, and fixing the fixationsection to the rear portion of the substrate material with a fixture.With such a mounting structure, a refractory/heat insulating panel canbe mounted onto the substrate not from the exterior side, i.e., outsidethe room, but from the back side, i.e., inside the room, withoutimpeding the general mounting strength or construction efficiency.Therefore, the panels according to the present invention is especiallybeneficial for use in densely built-up areas of big cities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the essential part of arefractory/heat insulating panel according to the first embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 2 presents side views of the surfacing material and the backingmaterial shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the essential part of the inorganicboard shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the essential part of the fixtureguide shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the essential part of jointportions in the course of assembling refractory/heat insulating panelsaccording to the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the essential part of jointportions after refractory/heat insulating panels according to the firstembodiment of the invention have been assembled.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the steps of manufacturing arefractory/heat insulating panel according to the first embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of a fixture cover whichis used when refractory/heat insulating panels are joined with eachother.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the essential part of jointportions in the course of assembling refractory/heat insulating panelsusing a fixture cover shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of the essential part of jointportions after refractory/heat insulating panels have been assembledusing a fixture cover shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 presents schematic views of the essential part showing how thefixture cover shown in FIG. 8 is used.

FIG. 12 presents sectional views showing other embodiments of a fixturecover.

FIG. 13 shows side views of a surfacing material and a backing materialof a refractory/heat insulating panel in which assembling performance isimproved by forming a slant face in a female joint portion.

FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional view of the essential part of jointportions in the course of assembling refractory/heat insulating panelsformed by the surfacing material and the backing material shown in FIG.13.

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of the essential part of jointportions after refractory/heat insulating panels formed by the surfacingmaterial and the backing material shown in FIG. 13 have been assembled.

FIG. 16 shows sectional views of the essential part of a refractory/heatinsulating panel according to the second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the essential part of an example of thenonwoven fabric in FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 presents perspective views showing the essential part of otherembodiments of a nonwoven fabric.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the essential part of a refractory/heatinsulating panel according to the third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 20 is a longitudinal sectional view of the essential part of jointportions of refractory/heat insulating panels according to the thirdembodiment when assembled.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the essential part of a refractory/heatinsulating panel according to the fourth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 22 is a longitudinal sectional view of the essential part of jointportions of refractory/heat insulating panels according to the fourthembodiment when assembled.

FIG. 23 is a schematic view showing the steps of manufacturing arefractory/heat insulating panel according to the fourth embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the essential part of a surfacingmaterial or backing material of a refractory/heat insulating panelaccording to the fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 25 presents sectional views of the essential part of arefractory/heat insulating panel according to the sixth embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the essential part of the core materialportion of a refractory/heat insulating panel according to the seventhembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of the essential part of the woodenskeleton members shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 28 presents perspective views showing the essential part of otherembodiments of wooden skeleton members.

FIG. 29 presents sectional views showing the essential part of otherembodiments of a core material of a type which contains wooden skeletonmembers as buried therein.

FIG. 30 is a sectional view of the essential part of a refractory/heatinsulating panel according to the eighth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 31 presents perspective views showing the essential part ofembodiments of the pipe-shaped member in FIG. 30.

FIG. 32 presents sectional views showing the essential part of otherembodiments of a refractory/heat insulating panel in which pipe-shapedmembers are buried.

FIG. 33 presents sectional views showing other embodiments ofpipe-shaped members.

FIG. 34 is a sectional view of the essential part of a furtherembodiment of a refractory/heart insulating panel in which pipe-shapedmembers are buried.

FIG. 35 presents a perspective view showing the essential part of thepipe-shaped member shown in FIG. 34.

FIG. 36 presents sectional views of the essential part of still furtherembodiments of a refractory/heat insulating panel in which pipe-shapedmembers are buried.

FIG. 37 presents side views showing the essential part of still furtherembodiments of a pipe-shaped member.

FIG. 38 is a perspective view of the essential part of therefractory/heat insulating panel according to the ninth embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 39 presents side views of the surfacing material and backingmaterial shown in FIG. 38.

FIG. 40 is a perspective view of the essential part of the inorganicboard shown in FIG. 38.

FIG. 41 is a longitudinal sectional view of the essential part of jointportions in the course of assembling refractory/heat insulating panelsaccording to the ninth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 42 is a longitudinal sectional view of the essential part of jointportions after refractory/heat insulating panels according to the ninthembodiment of the invention have been assembled.

FIG. 43 is a schematic view showing the steps of manufacturing arefractory/heat insulating panel according to the ninth embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 44 presents sectional views showing the essential part of otherembodiments of a refractory/heat insulating panel according to the ninthembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 45 presents sectional views showing the essential part of furtherembodiments of a refractory/heat insulating panel according to the ninthembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 46 presents sectional views showing the essential part of otherembodiments of a refractory/heat insulating panel according to the ninthembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 47 is a sectional view showing the essential part of anotherembodiment of a refractory/heat insulating panel according to the ninthembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 48 presents sectional views showing the essential part of otherembodiments of a refractory/heat insulating panel according to the ninthembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 49 presents sectional views showing the essential part of otherembodiments of a refractory/heat insulating panel according to the ninthembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 50 presents sectional views showing the essential part of otherembodiments of a refractory/heat insulating panel according to the ninthembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 51 presents sectional views showing the essential part of otherembodiments of a refractory/heat insulating panel according to the ninthembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 52 presents sectional views showing the essential part of otherembodiments of a refractory/heat insulating panel according to the ninthembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 53 presents sectional views showing the essential part of otherembodiments of a refractory/heat insulating panel according to the ninthembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 54 is a sectional view showing the essential part of anotherembodiment of a refractory/heat insulating panel according to the ninthembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 55 is a sectional view showing the essential part of an embodimentof a square bending covering a butt end of a refractory/heat insulatingpanel.

FIG. 56 is a perspective view showing the essential part of anembodiment of a mounting structure for a refractory/heat insulatingpanel against a building frame.

FIG. 57 is a side view containing a segmented side view of an embodimentof a mounting structure for a refractory/heat insulating panel against abuilding frame.

FIG. 58 shows a refractory/heat insulating panel which appears in FIG.47 for demonstrating the mounting structure for panels, in which (a) isa perspective view of the essential part of a refractory/heat insulatingpanel, and (b) and (c) each are a side view of the surfacing and backingmaterials.

FIG. 59 shows the mounting bracket shown in FIG. 47, in which (a) is aperspective view, (b) is a sectional view along the line A--A in (a),and (c) is a development elevation.

FIG. 60 presents sectional views showing other embodiments of therefractory/heat insulating panel shown in FIG. 47.

FIG. 61 presents perspective views showing other embodiments of amounting bracket.

FIG. 62 presents perspective views showing still other embodiments of amounting bracket.

FIG. 63 presents perspective views showing still more other embodimentsof a mounting bracket.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

First embodiment (FIG. 1 through FIG. 15)

A refractory/heat insulating panel according to the present embodimentis an example in which inorganic boards are used, and FIG. 1 shows atypical example of a refractory/heat insulating panel having inorganicboards. Numeral 1 denotes a refractory/heat insulating panel having asandwich structure which is realized by integrally interposing a corematerial 18 between a surfacing material 2 and a backing material 14.Further, a male joint portion 21, and a female joint portion 25 areprovided at both longitudinal ends of the refractory/heat insulatingpanel 1.

To describe in detail, the surfacing material 2 and the backing material14 are made of a thin metallic plate such as of iron, aluminum, copper,stainless steel, titanium, steel plated with an alloy of aluminum andzinc, porcelain enameled steel, clad steel, laminated steel (polyvinylchloride-coated steel plate or the like), a sandwiched steel (vibrationdamping steel plate or the like), or the like (of course, coloredmetallic plates which are obtained by painting the above-mentionedmaterials in various colors can be used). A material selected from theabove-described materials is formed in various arbitrary shapes by rollmolding, press molding, extrusion or the like. Alternatively, thesurfacing material 2 and the backing material 14 are made of aninorganic material. In this case, the inorganic material is subjected toextrusion, press molding, autoclave cure molding, or the like to obtainvarious arbitrary shapes.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2(a), the surfacing material 2, for example,includes a laterally elongated decorative surface portion 3, side edges4 and 5 which are formed by bending both lateral side edges of thedecorative surface portion 3 inwardly. Formed at one end of thesurfacing material 2 are a joint bottom surface 6 extending from thelower end of the side edge 4, a fixation convex portion 7 which isformed by downwardly bending the tip of the joint bottom surface 6 andwhich is projected outward to have a U-like shape, and a reinforcingflap 8 which is formed by inwardly bending the lower edge portion of thefixation convex portion 7 in an L-like shape.

Further, formed at the other end of the surfacing material 2 are a loweredge 9 formed by inwardly and horizontally extending the lower endportion of the side edge 5, a step portion 10 formed by slanting andbending the tip of the lower edge 9 downwardly, .an insertion groove 11formed by inwardly bending the lower end portion of the step portion 10to obtain a U-shaped cross section, an insertion convex portion 12 whichis formed by outwardly bending the tip of the insertion groove 11 andwhich is projected outward to have a U-like shape, and a receivingsurface 13 extending from the lower edge of the insertion convex portion12.

As shown in FIG. 2(b), the backing material 14 includes a laterallyelongated bottom surface 15 facing the decorative surface portion 3, andflaps 16 and 17 which are formed by inwardly bending both end portionsof the bottom surface 15 in a U-like shape.

The core material 18 is made of a plastic foam 19, and inorganic boards20 are embedded at both ends thereof. The plastic foam 19 acts as a heatinsulating material, a fire resistant material, an adhesive, areinforcing material, a buffering material, a sound-absorbent material,a volume increasing material, a weight reducing material and the like.

An unfoamed raw material of the plastic foam 19 is distributed into thespace between the surfacing material 2 and the backing material 14, andis then allowed to react and foam, so that all the structural materialsare integrally fixed to each other. The plastic foam typically includesthose obtained by incorporating a foaming agent, aluminum hydroxide,ammonium polyphosphate, graphite, and a curing agent into a foam havingitself a fire protecting performance equal to or superior toquasi-noncombustible materials, preferably comparable to noncombustiblematerials, such as a resol type phenol foam, and the mixture is allowedto foam and cure. The resol type phenol foam is then integrated with thesurfacing material 2 and the backing material 14 by the self-adhesive ofthe phenol foam produced during the time of foaming and curing of theresin.

The resol type phenolic foam (hereinafter simply referred to as "phenolfoam") is mainly manufactured by a continuous foam molding process, andhas a higher noncombustibility, a lower smoke generation property, and alower toxicity compared with other synthetic resin foams (plasticfoams). Further, the phenol foam provides a required mechanical strengthwhen the phenol foam has a density of about 50 to 300 Kg/m³ . Moreover,metal siding materials, which are formed by sandwiching the phenol foambetween metal plates, have a fire protecting performance which pass thefire resistant construction test of JIS-A-1301 (a fire resistance testfor wooden portions of buildings) and the fire resistant constructiontest of JIS-A-1302 (a fire resistance test for noncombustibleconstruction portions of buildings).

The foaming agent is mixed in the stock solution of the phenol foam inan amount of 2 to 50 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of thestock solution of the phenol foam. Examples of foaming agents includemethylene chloride, carbonate (powder), and the like.

Aluminum hydroxide is mixed in the stock solution of the phenol foam inan amount of 50 to 300 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight ofthe stock solution of the phenol foam. The aluminum hydroxide is usefulas a flame-retardant, a fireproofing agent and a heat-resistant agent.It is preferred that aluminum hydroxide have a moisture percentage of 0to 30%, a grain size of 10 to 100μ, and a purity of 90% or more.

Ammonium polyphosphate is mixed in the stock solution of the phenol foamin an amount of 1 to 25 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight ofthe stock solution of the phenol foam. The ammonium polyphosphate isuseful as a reaction regulating agent and a flame-retardant propertyimparting agent, and it is preferred that the ammonium polyphosphatehave a grain size of 10 to 100μ.

Graphite is mixed in the stock solution of the phenol foam in an amountof 2 to 30 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the stocksolution of the phenol foam. In the case of fire, space is formed in thepanel due to carbonization of the phenol foam, and the space is filledwith graphite which has expanded due to heat. Therefore, the graphite iseffective in preventing the fire resistance from deteriorating due tothe shrinkage.

A curing agent is mixed in the stock solution of the phenol foam in anamount of 10 to 50 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of thestock solution of the phenol foam. The curing agent is a mixture of anorganic phosphoric acid type and a PSA type, or a phosphoric acid typeand a PSA type.

Of course, the core material 18 includes a foamed material in which longor short fibers (glass wool, rock wool, carbon fibers, graphite and thelike) are uniformly dispersed and locally placed.

The inorganic boards 20 are used for enhancing the fire properties of ajoint portion which will be described later. The inorganic board 20 ismade of a material selected from the group consisting of calciumsilicate, calcium carbonate, plaster, pearlite cement, rock wool, slate,ALC, PC, other light-weight inorganic materials, light-weight inorganicfoaming materials, composite boards composed of these boards andmaterials, and super high density resins such as high density phenolfoam. The inorganic boards 20 are elongated materials each having anarbitrary cross section such as a rectangular shape, a square shape anda circular shape, and are integrally embedded in the core material withinserted into the fixation convex section 7 and the insertion convexsection 12.

Each of the inorganic board 20, for example, has a shape shown in FIG.3, and the thickness t thereof ranges from about 3 to 100 mm while thewidth thereof ranges from about 5 to 100 mm. A single continuous boardor plurality of short boards are formed depending on the length of therefractory/heat insulating panel 1.

The male joint portion 21 is a side end portion which is integrallyformed by the stationary convex section 7, the reinforcing flap 8, andthe flap 16. The male joint portion 21 has a step portion 22 which isformed by depressing one side edge of the decorative surface portion 3so as to receive a cover portion 26 of the female joint portion 25 suchthat the cover portion 26 is flush with the decorative surface portion 3without projecting therefrom. The male joint portion 21 also has anupper protrusion 23 for acting as a guide and for increasing engagementforce, and an insertion concave portion 24 engageable with a main convexportion 28 which will be described later.

The female joint portion 25 is composed of a cover portion 26 forcovering the step portion 22, an insertion groove 27 having a U-likecross section, and a main convex portion 28 which will be inserted intothe insertion concave portion 24.

Numeral 29 denotes an inorganic packing material made of, for example,rock wool felt, ceramic wool, glass-wool, or the like. The inorganicpacking material mainly provides functions as a refractory material, awaterproof material and the like.

A packing material 30 disposed in the joint portion γ and illustrated bya dotted line in FIG. 6 prevents rain or the like from entering throughthe joint portion γ. The packing material 30 is made of a commerciallyavailable material such as polyvinyl chlorides, chloroprenes,chlorosulfonated polyethylenes, ethylene propylenes, andasphalt-impregnated polyuretanes. The packing material 30 is useful forproviding functions as a waterproof material, a hermetic material, andthe like. The packing material is optionally processed for forming.Numeral 31 is a fixture guide, which has an elongated shape as shown inFIG. 4 or a short shape (not shown). The material of the fixture guide31 is an extrusion (plastic material) of a soft synthetic resin selectedfrom the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene,vinyl chloride resin, styrol resin, methacrylic resin, polyurethane,phenol resin, urea resin, melamin resin, fluororesin, silicon resin, andfiber-reinforced plastics. Alternatively, the fixture guide 31 is ofcommercially available packing materials having a predetermined shapeand elasticity such as polyvinyl chlorides, chloroprenes,chlorosulfonated polyethylenes, ethylene propylenes, and asphaltimpregnated polyuretanes. The guide 31 is useful for providing functionsas a waterproof material, a hermetic material, and the like. An extrudedproduct of vinyl chloride is good in terms of productivity, cost andperformances.

To describe in more detail, the fixture guide 31 covers the head portionβ₁ of a fixture β, which fixes the refractory/heat insulating panel 1 toa frame α, as shown in FIG. 5. The fixture guide 31 is provided foreliminating the problem that smooth assembly is hindered by aninterference between the head portion β₁ of the fixture β and a sideedge 5 of the lower end of the refractory/heat insulating panel 1, whichmay occur when an upper refractory/heat insulating panel 1 is joinedwith a lower refractory/heat insulating panel 1. Incidentally, foradhering the fixture guide 31 to the upper protrusion 23, treatment ofheat fusion or with an adhesive is employed.

Next, an example of assembly will be described. An assumption is madethat the refractory/heat insulating panel 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used forassembling as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. A water drip, a starter and thelike are fixed to the lower end of the frame α although they are notshown in the drawings. As shown in the drawing, an n-th refractory/heatinsulating panel 1 is fixed to the frame α via the fixture β.Subsequently, the female joint portion 25 of an n+1-th refractory/heatinsulating panel 1, which will become an upper panel, is placed on themale joint portion 21 of the n-th refractory/heat insulating panel 1, asshown in FIG. 6. Accordingly, in order to form an exterior wall, theabove-described step is repeated from the ground sill toward the caves.

Next, an example of a method of manufacturing the refractory/heatinsulating panel 1, which is used in the mounting structure ofrefractory/heat insulating panels according to the present invention isshown in FIG. 7. First, a surfacing material 2, for example, made of acolor steel sheet (having a thickness of 0.5 mm) is red from a supplystep A (for example, an uncoiler or a lifter) to a molding step B inwhich the surfacing material 2 is molded into a shape shown in FIG. 1.Subsequently, inorganic boards 20 each made of an elongated calciumsilicate panel and having a thickness of 10 mm and a width of 50 mm areinserted from both lateral sides in an inorganic board forming step C.The surfacing material 2 is then transported to a starting materialdelivering step D in which a stock solution 18a of the core material 18is delivered from a delivering machine E on the back surface 2a of thesurfacing material 2 to obtain a final density of about 70 to 300 Kg/m³.The stock solution 18a is obtained by mixing various flame-retardantsand reaction adjusting agents into an unfoamed stock solution of resoltype phenol, and uniformly stirring them. A backing material 14 made ofa color steel sheet (having a thickness of 0.5 mm) supplied from thesupply step F (uncoiler, lifter or the like) is formed in a molding stepG, and is then laminated on the surfacing material 2, which is thentransported to a cure oven H having a predetermined shape in whichcuring is effected at a temperature of about 30° to 100° C. for 5 to 30minutes by a continuous foaming process so that the mixture is allowedto foam and cure, thereby integrating the materials. It is then cut intoa shape with a predetermined size by a cutter I, and is then fed to apackaging step J, thereby obtaining final products. Needless to say, thefixture cover 31 is bonded to the panel in a step following the step Hof the cure oven, or in a later step.

Further, in order to confirm the fire properties of the mountingstructure of the refractory/heat insulating panel 1, a 1-hour refractoryconstruction test of JIS-A-1304 was performed. As a result, it wasconfirmed that the panel passed the test. The refractory/heat insulatingpanel 1 used in the test is such that the surfacing material 2 and thebacking material 14 are formed of a color steel sheet having a thicknessof 0.5 mm, the core material 18 is made of a phenol foam (having adensity of about 160 Kg/m³), and each inorganic board 20 is made of acalcium silicate board having a thickness of about 10 mm, and which hasa total thickness of 50 mm. Further, an inorganic packing material 29made of rock wool felt is continuously formed at the joint portion γ.

The joint portion of the above-described refractory/heat insulatingpanel 1 may have the following structures.

Namely, a fixture cover 31X shown in FIG. 8 through FIG. 10 may be usedinstead of the fixture guide 31. The fixture cover 31X has a short shapeas shown in FIG. 8 or an elongated shape (not shown). The material ofthe cover 31X is a similar metallic material as used for the surfacingmaterial, a plastic material or the like.

To describe more specifically, the fixture cover 31X covers the headportion β₁ X of a fixture βX, which fixes a refractory/heat insulatingpanel 1X to a frame αX. The refractory/heat insulating panel 1X isprovided with male and female joint portions having similar shapes asthose of the refractory/heat insulating panel 1, as shown in FIG. 9through FIG. 11 (however, the fixture guide 31 is not provided). Thefixture cover 31X is provided for eliminating the problem that smoothassembly is hindered by an interference between the head portion β₁ X ofthe fixture βX and a side edge 5X of the lower end of therefractory/heat insulating panel 1X, which may occur when an upperrefractory/heat insulating panel 1X joint with a lower refractory/heatinsulating panel 1X, as shown in FIG. 9.

Next, an example of assembly using the above-described fixture cover 31Xwill be described. First, an n-th refractory/heat insulating panel 1X isfixed to the frame α X via the fixture βX in a manner similar to thatused in the above-described example of assembly.

Subsequently, the fixture βX fixed to the frame αX is covered by thefixture cover 31X, as shown in FIG. 11(a) and FIG. 11(b). The femalejoint portion 25X of an (n+1)-th refractory/heat insulating panel 1X,which will become an upper panel, is placed on the male joint portion21X of the n-th refractory/heat insulating panel 1X, as shown in FIG. 9.Accordingly, in order to form an exterior wall, the above-described stepis repeated from the ground sill toward the eaves.

The fixture cover 31X may have the shapes shown in FIG. 12(a) throughFIG. 12(f).

Further, a slanted surface may be provided at the cover portion of thefemale joint portion instead of the fixture guide 31 and the fixturecover 31X. An example of such a structure is shown in FIG. 13 throughFIG. 15. A refractory/heat insulating panel 1Y used in this example hasa substantially similar structure as the aforementioned refractory/heatinsulating panel 1, and is provided with a male joint portion 22Y and afemale joint portion 26Y at both longitudinal side edges.

As shown in FIG. 13(a), the surfacing material 2Y, for example, includesa laterally elongated decorative surface portion 3Y, and side edges 4Yand 5Y which are formed by bending both lateral side edges of thedecorative surface portion 3 inwardly. Formed at one end of thesurfacing material 2Y are a joint bottom surface 6Y outwardly extendingfrom the lower end of the side edge 4Y, a fixation convex portion 7Ywhich is formed by downwardly bending the tip of the joint bottomsurface 6Y and which is projected outward to have a U-like shape, and areinforcing flap section 8Y which is formed by inwardly bending thelower edge portion of the fixation convex portion 7Y in an L-like shape.Further, formed at the other end of the surfacing material 2Y are aslanted surface 9Y formed by inwardly extending the lower end portion ofthe side edge 5Y with inclination, a lower edge 10Y formed by furtherextending the tip of the slanted surface 9Y in a horizontal direction, astep portion 11Y formed by slanting and bending the tip of the loweredge 10Y downwardly, an insertion groove 12Y formed by inwardly bendingthe lower end portion of the step portion 11Y to obtain an approximatelyU-shaped cross section, an insertion convex portion 13Y which is formedby outwardly bending the tip of the insertion groove 12Y and which isprojected outward to have a U-like shape, and a receiving surface 14Yextending from the lower edge of the insertion convex portion 13Y. Theslanted surface 9Y is provided for eliminating the problem that joint ofthe refractory/heat insulating panes is hindered by an interferencebetween the head portion of the fixture β Y and the lower end of a sideedge 6Y of the refractory/heat insulating panel 1Y, which may occur whenthe refractory/heat insulating panels 1Y are joined with each other, asshown in FIG. 14. This greatly improves the assembly.

As shown in FIG. 13(b), the backing material 15Y includes a laterallyelongated bottom surface 16Y facing the decorative surface portion 3Y,and flaps 17Y and 18Y which are formed by inwardly bending both endportions of the bottom surface 16Y in a U-like shape.

The male joint portion 22Y is a side end portion which is integrallyformed by the stationary convex section 7Y, the reinforcing flap section8Y, and the flap 17Y. The male joint portion 22Y has a step portion 23Ywhich is formed by depressing one side edge of the decorative surfaceportion 3Y so as to receive a cover portion 27Y of the female jointportion 26Y such that the cover portion 27Y is flush with the decorativesurface portion 3Y without projecting therefrom. The male joint portion22Y also has an upper protrusion 24Y for acting as a guide and forincreasing engagement force, and an insertion concave portion 25Yengageable with a main convex portion 29Y which will be described later.

The female joint portion 26Y is composed of a cover portion 27Y forcovering the step portion 23Y, an insertion groove 28Y having anapproximately U-like cross section, and the main convex portion 29Ywhich will be inserted into the insertion concave portion 25Y.

Next, an example of assembly will be briefly described. An assumption ismade that the above-described refractory/heat insulating panel isassembled in the manner shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15. A water drip, astarter and the like are fixed to the lower end of the frame α Yalthough they are not illustrated in the drawings. As shown in thedrawing, an n-th refractory/heat insulating panel 1Y is fixed to theframe αY via the fixture βY.

Subsequently, the female joint portion 26Y of an (n+1)-threfractory/heat insulating panel 1Y, which will become an upper panel,is placed on the male joint portion 22Y of the n-th refractory/heatinsulating panel 1Y. Accordingly, in order to form an exterior wall, theabove-described step is successively carried out from the ground silltoward the eaves.

A packing material 31Y disposed in the joint portion γY and illustratedwith a dotted line in FIG. 15 is a similar one to the above-describedpacking material 30, and prevents rain or the like from entering throughthe joint portion γY. The packing material 31Y mainly provides functionsas a waterproof material, an air-tight material and the like, and isprovided as necessary.

Second embodiment (FIG. 16 through FIG. 18)

This embodiment refers to an example of a refractory/heat insulatingpanel in which a nonwoven fabric is used, and the cross section of atypical example thereof is schematically shown in FIG. 16(a) and FIG.16(b) which is an enlarged cross section of the portion A of FIG. 16(a).As shown in the drawings, a refractory/heat insulating panel 100A iscomposed of a surfacing material 101, a backing material 102, a corematerial 103, and a nonwoven fabric 104.

Similar materials as used in the first embodiment are used for thesurfacing material 101, the backing material 102 and the core material103. Further, it is possible to enhance the refractory performance andthe fire protecting performance by mixing a light-weight aggregate(pearlite, glass beads, plaster slag, talc, shirasu balloons, or thelike), or fibers (glass wool, rock wool, carbon fibers, graphite and thelike) into the core material 103 as fire-retardants.

As shown in FIG. 16(b), the core material 103 is sandwiched between thesurfacing material 101 and the backing material 102 via the nonwovenfabric 104. The nonwoven fabric 104 is bonded, with an adhesive material105, to the inner surface of the surfacing material 101 and the innersurface of the backing material 102, both the inner surfaces facing thecore material 103. The nonwoven fabric 104 is a sheet made of one ormore kinds of fibers selected from polyester type, nylon type, borontype, carbon type, alumina type, silicon carbide type, aramid type,glass fiber type and rock wool type. The sheet may have a net-likeshape. The nonwoven fabric 104 has an air ventilating function andincreases the mechanical strength of the panel 100A. As a result, theflexural strength and the wind pressure resisting strength of the panel100A are increased, and the pitch at which the plate is mounted to abuilding frame can be made longer. When the surfacing material 101, thebacking material 102 and the core material 103 are integrally bonded bythe self-adhesiveness of the phenol foam, the unevenness of the nonwovenfabric 104 produces an anchor effect, thereby increasing the adhesiveforce between the surfacing material 101 and the core material 103 andbetween the core material 103 and the backing material 102. In addition,the nonwoven fabric 104 has a function of increasing the flatness of thesurfacing material 101 and the backing material 102.

Although it is preferred to form ventilating grooves 106 in the nonwovenfabric 104 as shown in FIGS. 16 to 18 so as to form an air ventilatingpassage 107 which will be described later, the nonwoven fabric 104 mayhave a flat shape without providing especially ventilating grooves 106.The nonwoven fabric 104 by itself has a function for releasing outsidethe condensed water and vapor produced during the formation of thephenol foam, a function for separating them, a water absorbing function,a retaining function, a function of acting as a flat material, afunction of controlling the phenol foam reaction system, a reinforcingfunction, a function of forming a fire-protecting and noncombustiblelayer, and an anchor function. Especially, the air gaps, thickness, andhydrophilic nature of the nonwoven fabric 104 realize the discharge ofcondensed water which are produced during the reaction of the phenolfoam, the prevention of decrease in the adhesiveness due to thecondensed water, and the control of reaction in which the curing of thephenol foam is effected in an optimal state during the time when itpermeates the nonwoven fabric 104. These functions are useful forenhancing the integration between the nonwoven fabric 104 and the phenolfoam. Although not illustrated in the drawings, since the nonwovenfabric 104 has a permeability or a hydrophilic nature, an adhesive and aphenol foam (core material 103) properly permeate into the nonwovenfabric 104 during the manufacturing process, thereby greatly increasingthe adhesive force between the surfacing material 101 and the corematerial 103 and between the core material 103 and the backing material102. In addition, it is possible to suppress deformations of thesurfacing material 101, the backing material 102 and the core material103 which may occur with time after the manufacture, thereby maintainingthe beautiful appearance over a prolonged period of time.

As the adhesive 105, a material is selected from the group consisting oftypes in which curing is effected by polymerization reaction such ascyano aorylate, epoxy; emulsion types such as rubber type, vinyl acetatetype; and hot melt types such as ethylene-vinyl acetate type, EVA andthe like.

The unwoven fabric 104 has a sheet-like shape, as shown in FIG. 17, anda plurality of ventilating grooves 106 having an approximately concavecross section are formed at a predetermined pitch. As shown in FIG.16(b), the ventilating grooves 106 form air ventilating passages 107 incooperation with the surfacing material 101 and the backing material102. Accordingly, it is possible that condensed water remaining in thephenol foam of the core material 103 over the curing period of therefractory/heat insulating panel 100A after it is manufactured or evenafter panels are assembled can be effectively released outside from thebutt ends of the panel 100A through the air ventilating passages 107. Asa result, deformation (swelling, warping, etc. of the surface) of thepanel 100A with time after the manufacture can be prevented.Additionally, since acidic components contained in the phenol foam ofthe core material 103 is released outside to a certain extent togetherwith moisture, development of rust and deterioration in quality of thesurfacing material 101 and the backing material 102 can be prevented inthe cases where they are made of a steel plate or the like,respectively.

The above-described embodiment is an example of refractory/heatinsulating panels in which a nonwoven fabric is used, and the embodimentmay be modified as follows. FIG. 18(a) through FIG. 18(d) are otherexamples of the nonwoven fabric 104. In the example shown in FIG. 18(a),ventilating grooves 106 extending in a lateral direction are formed aswell as ones extending in a longitudinal direction. In the example shownin FIG. 18(b), air ventilating passages 107 are previously formed in thenonwoven fabric 104 by superimposing two nonwoven fabrics one on theother. In the example shown in FIG. 18(c), pipe-shaped air ventilatingpassages 107 are formed such that the ventilating passages 107 aresuccessively connected. In the example shown in FIG. 18(d), the nonwovenfabric 104 has a layered structure.

Third embodiment (FIG. 19 and FIG. 20)

A refractory/heat insulating panel according to the present embodimentis an example in which a light-weight aggregate is used, and a typicalexample thereof is shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20. Numeral 201 denotes anoncombustible substrate material composed of a surfacing material 201aand a backing material 201b. Numeral 202 denotes a core material, 203 alightweight aggregate, 204 a male joint portion, and 205 a female jointportion.

Although similar materials as used in the above-described embodimentsare used for the noncombustible substrate material 201 and the corematerial 202, the light-weight-aggregate 203 is incorporated in sideportions for joining the core material 202, i.e., in the male jointportion 204 and the female joint portion 205. The light-weight aggregateis made of pearlite, glass beads, plaster slag, talc, shirasu balloons,or the like, which are widely used as general purpose products. Thelight-weight aggregate is mixed in an amount which is determined inaccordance with a desired performance.

Since the refractory/heat insulating panel 200α manufactured in theabove-described manner includes the light-weight aggregate 203incorporated in the joint portions which are the weakest portions interms of refractory performance, the fire resistance and the mechanicalstrength of the joint portions can be greatly increased. Therefore, itis possible to obtain a refractory/heat insulating panel which passesthe 1-hour refractory construction test of JIS-A-1304 (a method oftesting refractory performance of building structures).

Fourth embodiment (FIG. 21 through FIG. 23)

A refractory/heat insulating panel according to the present embodimentis an example in which the density of a core material is increased atjoining ends, and a typical example thereof is shown in FIGS. 21 and 22.Numeral 301 denotes a noncombustible substrate material composed of asurfacing material 301a and a backing material 301b. Numeral 302 denotesa core material, 303 a male joint portion, and 304 a female jointportion. Although the similar materials as used in the above-describedembodiments are used for the noncombustible substrate material 301 andthe core material 302, the core material 302 has different densities atdifferent portions.

Namely, the core material 302 is divided into a left side portion 303acorresponding to the male joint portion 303, a right side portion 304acorresponding to the female joint portion 304, and a central portion302a located therebetween. The left side portion 303a and the right sideportion 304a are made of a high density phenol foam which is fireresistant and has a density of about 100 to 500 Kg/m³, while the centralportion 302a is made of a low density phenol foam having a density ofabout 50 to 200 Kg/m³. Of course, the boundaries between the left sideportion 303a and the central portion 302a and between the centralportion 302a and the right side portion 304a are not strictly defined,and the high density phenol foam and the low density phenol foam bothexist around the boundaries.

In the refractory/heat insulating panel 300a manufactured in theabove-described manner, a high density phenol foam having refractoryperformance is used at the joint portions which are the weakest portionsin terms of the fire resistance. Therefore, it is possible to obtain arefractory/heat insulating panel α which passes the 1-hour refractoryconstruction test of JIS-A-1304 (a method of testing refractoryperformance of building structures). In addition, since the centralportion 302a, which is the main portion of the panel, has a low density,the amount of an expensive phenol foam resin to be used can be reduced.

An example of a method of manufacturing the above-describedrefractory/heat insulating panel 300α is shown in FIG. 23. First, anoncombustible substrate material 301 such as a color steel sheet(having a thickness of 0.5 mm), which will be used as a surfacingmaterial 301a, is fed from a supply step A' (for example, an uncoiler ora lifter) to a heating step B' in which the noncombustible substratematerial 301 is heated at a temperature of about 20° to 80° C.Subsequently, an unfoamed resol type phenol foam in the form of a stocksolution is delivered to the left and right side portions of thenoncombustible substrate material 301 from a delivering machine C' suchthat the final density as high as 100 to 500 Kg/m³ is obtained. Further,the raw material, phenol foam, is delivered to the central portions ofthe noncombustible substrate material 301 from a delivering machine D'such that the density becomes as low as 50 to 200 Kg/m³. Anothernoncombustible substrate material 301 such as a color steel sheet(having a thickness of 0.5 mm), which will be used as a backing material301b, is fed from a supply step E', is superposed onto the phenol foams,and then fed to a prescribed cure oven F' in which curing is effected ata temperature of about 30° to 100° C. for 7 to 15 minutes in acontinuous process or in a batch process. It is then cut into apredetermined size by a cutter G', and is then fed to a packaging stepH. Of course, molding steps A1' and E1' exist after the supply steps A'and E' as shown by dotted lines so as to mold the noncombustiblesubstrate material 301 in various shapes. The core material 302 isfinally formed to have an approximately uniform density of 50 to 300Kg/m³.

It is possible to incorporate various flame-retardants into the corematerial 302 to provide a refractory/heat insulating panel 300α toimprove further the fire resistance. Needless to say, the densities andthe like of the left side portion 303a, the right side portion 304a andthe central portion 302a can be varied in accordance with the desiredperformances.

Fifth embodiment (FIG. 24)

A refractory/heat insulating panel according to the present embodimentis an example in which embossing is effected on the surfacing materialand/or the backing material. Although the similar materials as used inthe above-described embodiments are used for the surfacing material, thebacking material and the core material, the surfacing material and/orthe backing material 400 are provided with uneven surfaces formed byembossing as shown in FIG. 24. The uneven surfaces formed by embossingact as anchors so that the adhesiveness between the surfacing materialand the core material, or between the core material and the backingmaterial, is enhanced, and the mechanical strength of therefractory/heat insulating panel also increases. Accordingly, themounting pitch at which the panel is mounted to a frame can beprolonged, thereby facilitating construction work.

Sixth embodiment (FIG. 25)

A refractory/heat insulating panel according to the present embodimentis an example in which an isocyanurate foam layer and/or a polyurethanefoam layer are provided in the core material. Although the similarmaterials as used in the above-described embodiments are used for thesurfacing material 501, the backing material 502 and the core material503, the core material 503 is provided with a single layer of anisocyanurate foam layer or a polyurethane foam layer 504 formed therein,as shown in FIG. 25(a). Alternatively, an isocyanurate foam layer 505and a polyurethane foam layer 506 (or isocyanurate foam layers 505 and506, or polyurethane foam layers 505 and 506) are provided such thatthese layers are placed in the core material 503 or these layerssandwich the core material 503 (FIGS. 25(b) and (c)).

With this isocyanurate foam layer and/or polyurethane foam layer, thestrength of the entire refractory/heat insulating panel is greatlyincreased. Further, deformation due to heat hardly occurs, and the fireresistance of joint portions is greatly improved. Since the isocyanuratefoam layer and/or the polyurethane foam layer act as an air ventilatinglayer, the condensed water remaining in the core material over thecuring period of the refractory/heat insulating panel after it ismanufactured or even after panels are assembled can be effectivelyreleased outside the panel. As a result, deformation (swelling, warping,etc. of the surface) of the panel with time after the manufacture can beprevented.

Seventh embodiment (FIG. 26 through FIG. 29)

A refractory/heat insulating panel according to the present embodimentis an example in which a wooden skeleton member is buried in a corematerial. A typical example of such panel is shown in FIG. 26. FIG. 27shows a typical example of a wooden skeleton member which is buried inthe core material.

A wooden skeleton member 602 is formed by combining lateral cross-pieces603 having a rod-like shape and longitudinal rods 604 having aboard-like shape which is perpendicular to the lateral pieces, and bas(1) a reinforcing function, (2) a moisture controlling function, (3) asize stabilizing function and (4) a function of removing hindrances inreaction. Specifically, the functions (1) and (3) are functions obtainedby the wooden skeleton member 602. The wooden skeleton member 602 is amaterial having a capability of controlling moisture, which realizes thefunction (2) by which changes such as shrinkage can be suppressed, andcondensed water produced during the reaction of the core material can beabsorbed. Since the core material 606 is made of a similar material asused in the above-described embodiments, and is a foamed material havinga small degree of water absorbing function by itself, the core material606 also has a function of releasing the absorbed water (byevaporation).

Next, an example of a method of manufacturing the panel will bedescribed briefly. A sheet material 600A is placed on the entire innerwall of a predetermined die material (not shown). Subsequently, thewooden skeleton member 602 is placed on a lower die which is heated to atemperature of about 40 to 90 an unfoamed core material 606 in the foamof a stock solution, to which various components have been added andmixed, is uniformly filled in space 605. Immediately after the fillingstep, a heated upper die is placed on the lower die. After apredetermined period of time (about 1 to 10 minutes) has elapsed, thedies are removed to obtain a core material 601 as shown in FIG. 26 inwhich the wooden skeleton is embedded. Air ventilating holes may beformed in the upper and lower dies if necessary.

The wooden skeleton member 602 may be constructed as shown in FIG. 28.Namely, a wooden skeleton member 602 shown in FIG. 28(a) has lateralcross-pieces 603 and longitudinal rods 604 which are made of materialssimilar to each other and are assembled to form a grid-likeconfiguration. A wooden skeleton member 602 shown in FIG. 28(b) includeslongitudinal frames 604 each having a cut-away portion, for example, atone side thereof, into which lateral rods 603 are fitted. In a woodenskeleton member 602 shown in FIG. 28(c), longitudinal cross-pieces 604are attached on a board material 600B in parallel with each other. Awooden skeleton member 602 shown in FIG. 28(d) is a paper honeycomb(including ones formed with a noncombustible paper obtained by acondensed phosphoric acid process, etc.).

Further, the core material 601 in which the wooden skeleton is buriedmay be formed as shown in FIG. 29. Namely, in a core material 606 shownin FIG. 29(a), board materials 600b are integrally disposed at the upperand lower faces of the core material. A core material 601 shown in FIG.29(b) is provided with a board material 600B at its one face, and asheet 600A at the other face. FIG. 29(c) shows a core material 601formed integrally with a sheet 600A, wherein the rectangular peripheralsurfaces are covered by the sheet 600A. In a core material 601 shown in(d), board materials 600B and sheets 600A are integrally disposed atside surfaces, and the upper and lower faces, respectively. A corematerial 601 shown in (e) is provided with a cushion material 600C atits top face, and a board material 600B at its bottom side.

The sheet 600A is a flexible material formed of one or more kinds ofmaterials selected from the group consisting of paper, synthetic resins,metals, nonwoven fabrics made of noncombustible fibers and materialshaving a net-like structure. The board material 600B is formed of one ormore kinds of material selected from plywoods, wood-texture boards,metallic plates, synthetic resin plates, noncombustible boards (plasterboards, calcium silicate boards, calcium carbonate boards, ALC boards,cement boards, cement boards including wooden fibers, cement boardincluding wooden chips and the like).

The cushion material 600C is a material of synthetic resin type, glassfiber type, inorganic fiber type having bulk densities of two to fivetimes, rubbers, or the like.

Eighth embodiment (FIG. 30 through FIG. 37)

A refractory/heat insulating panel according to the present embodimentis an example in which pipe-shaped members having an air-ventilationproperty are buried in a core material, and the cross section of atypical example thereof is schematically shown in FIG. 30. As shown inthis drawing, a refractory/heat insulating panel 700A is composed of asurfacing material 701, a backing material 702, a core material 703, andpipe-shaped members 704.

The surfacing material 701, the backing material 702, and the corematerial 703 are made of materials similar to those used in the abovedescribed embodiments.

Each of the pipe-shaped members 704 has a hollow 705, as enlarged andshown in FIG. 31(a) and FIG. 31(b), and at least one pipe-shaped member704 is placed in the core material 703 along the longitudinal directionof the panel 700A. Examples of the materials suitable for thepipe-shaped members 704 shown in FIG. 31(a) include iron plates,aluminum plates, copper plates, stainless steel plates, titanium plates,steel plates plated with an alloy of aluminum and zinc, porcelainenameled steel plates, clad steel plates, laminated steel plates(polyvinyl chloride-coated steel plates and the like), sandwiched steelplates (vibration damping steel plates and the like), inorganic extrudedmaterials, plastic resins, FRP and the like. Examples of the materialssuitable for the pipe-shaped members 704 shown in FIG. 31(b) includepolyester fibers, nylon fibers, boron fibers, carbon fibers, aluminafibers, silicon carbide fibers, aramid fibers, and glass fibers.

The pipe-shaped members 704 which are made of fibers as shown in FIG.31(b) exhibit air-permeable property utilizing clearances betweenfibers. Pipe-shaped members 704 as shown in FIG. 31(a) pass air througha plurality of small holes 706 formed in the peripheral surface of thepipe-shaped members 704.

When one or more pipe-shaped members 704 are disposed in the corematerial 703, the pipe-shaped members 704 act as reinforcing materialsfor the core material 703, thereby increasing the mechanical strength ofthe panel 700A. As a result, the flexural strength and the wind pressureresisting strength of the panel 700A are increased, and the pitch atwhich the plate is mounted to a building frame can be made longer. Sincethe pipe-shaped member 704 has an air ventilating function, thecondensed water remaining in the phenol foam of the core material 703over the curing period of the panel 700A or after the panel ismanufactured can be effectively released and ventilated from a butt endof the panel 700A through the hollow 705 of the pipe-shaped member 704.As a result, deformation (swelling, warping, etc. of the surface) of thepanel 700A with time after manufacture can be prevented. Additionally,since acidic components contained in the phenol foam of the corematerial 703 is released to a certain extent outside together withwater, generation of rust and deterioration in quality of the panel canbe prevented in the cases where the surfacing material 701 and thebacking material 702 are made of a steel plate or the like.

The above-described refractory/heat insulating panel 700A may be formedas follows. In panels 700A shown in FIGS. 32(a) through 32(d),pipe-shaped members 704 are disposed in core materials 703 in differentmanners. In the example shown in FIG. 32(a), pipe-shaped members 704having a large diameter are alternately disposed near the surfacingmaterial 701 and the backing material 702. In the example shown in FIG.32(b), pipe-shaped members 704 having a small diameter are randomlydistributed. In the example shown in FIG. 32(c), a plurality ofpipe-shaped members 704 are uniformly distributed. In the example shownin FIG. 32(d), pipe-shaped members 704 having a large diameter andpipe-shaped members 704 having a small diameter are alternatelydisposed.

FIG. 33 (a) through (g) show modified examples of pipe-shaped membershaving different cross sections. In the examples shown in FIG. 33(a)through FIG. 33(e), the shape of each pipe-shaped member 704 ismodified. In the examples shown in FIGS. 33(f) and 33(g), adjoiningpipe-shaped members 704 are connected to each other to form a sheet-likeshape.

Further, as shown in FIG. 34 and FIG. 35, the pipe-shaped member 704 maybe formed to have two groups of pipes 708 each having a hollow 705, onegroup extending in a longitudinal direction and the other group in alateral direction, intersect with each other, and to join them at theintersections to form a stitch-like or a net-like configuration.Further, one or more pipe-shaped members 704 having this structure maybe disposed in the core material 703. Such a pipe-shaped member 704 maybe modified as follows.

In panels 700A shown in FIGS. 36(a) and 36(b), pipe-shaped members 704are distributed in the core material 703 in different manners. In theexample shown in FIG. 36(a), two or more layers of pipe-shaped members704 are buried in the core material 703. In the example shown in FIG.36(b), pipe-shaped materials 704 are previously bonded with an adhesive(not shown) and fixed to the inner side of the surfacing material 701and the inner side of the backing material 702, both the inner sidesfacing the core material 703. In this structure, the pipe-shaped members704 act as a nonwoven fabric, thereby increasing adhering strengthbetween the surfacing material 701 or the backing material 702, and thecore material 703.

FIGS. 37 (a) through (c) show modifications of the pipe-shaped member704 itself. In the example shown in FIG. 37(a), the pipe-shapedmaterials 704 form a shape of plain woven fabric. In the example shownin FIG. 37(b), the pipe-shaped materials 704 form a shape of lozengewoven fabric. In the example shown in FIG. 37(c), the pipe-shapedmaterials 704 form a lozenge continuous grid. Other woven forms suitablefor the pipe-shaped materials 704 include twill weave, plain mattingweave, twill-matting weave, matting weave, strand weave, triple, weave,crimp weave, hexagonal type, circular type, and the like.

Ninth embodiment (FIG. 38 through FIG. 54)

Next, most preferred embodiments regarding the joint portions of therefractory/heat insulating panels according to the above describedembodiments will be described. FIG. 38 is a partially cut-awayperspective view showing a typical example of a refractory/heatinsulating panel. Numeral 801 denotes a refractory/heat insulating panelhaving a sandwich structure, in which a core material 829 is integrallydisposed between a surfacing material 802 and a backing material 822.The panel 801 is provided with a male joint portion 832 and a femalejoint portion 836 at both longitudinal sides thereof.

To describe specifically, the surfacing material 802 and the backingmaterial 822 are made of a thin metallic sheet or an inorganic material.In the former case, a material such as an iron plate, an aluminum plate,a copper plate, a stainless steel plate, a titanium plate, a steel plateplated with an alloy of aluminum and zinc, a porcelain enameled steelplates, a clad steel plate, a laminated steel plate (a polyvinylchloride-coated steel plate and the like), a sandwiched steel plate (avibration damping steel plate and the like), and the like (of course, acolored metallic plate obtained by painting one of the above-describedplates may be used) is formed in various shapes by roll-molding, pressmolding, extrusion or the like.

Further, as shown in FIG. 39(a), a laterally elongated decorativesurface portion 803 of the surfacing material 802 includes a flatdecorative surface 804, side edges, 805 and 806 which are formed bybending both of the lateral side edges of the decorative surface 804inwardly, a joint bottom surface 807 extending from the lower end of theside edge 805. Formed at one end of the surfacing material 801 are astationary convex portion 813 and a guide portion 814. The stationaryconvex portion 813 includes an upper surface 808 outwardly projectedfrom the tip of the joint bottom surface 807, slanted surfaces 809 and810 which are sides of an approximately triangle-formed by extending thetip of the upper surface 808, a fixation groove 811 formed in the uppersurface and having a concave cross section, and a lower surface 812inwardly extending from the lower end of the slanted surface 810. Theguide section 814 is formed by extending the tip of the lower surface812 in a direction perpendicular to the lower surface 812.

Further, formed at the other end of the surfacing material 801 are aninsertion groove 819 having an approximately U-like cross section, aninsertion convex portion 820 and a guide section 821 having anapproximately L-like cross section. The insertion groove 819 is formedby a lower edge 815 inwardly extending from the lower end of the sideedge 806, slanted abutment surfaces 816 and 817 which are formed bybending the tip end of the lower edge 815 downward, and a lower surface818 outwardly extending from the tip of the inclined abutment surface817. The insertion convex portion 820 is formed by inwardly bending thetip of the lower surface to form a U-like shape. The guide section 821is extended from the lower edge of the insertion convex portion 820.

Moreover, two protrusions 811a are formed in the bottom surface of thefixation groove 811 to prevent the attachment position of a fixture 800βfrom deviating in the right or left directions which may occur when therefractory/heat insulating panel 801 is fixed to the frame 800α.

As shown in FIG. 39(b), the backing material 822 has a laterallyelongated bottom surface 823 opposing the decorative surface portion803. At one end of the bottom surface 823 are formed an abutment section824 which is inwardly bent to have a U-like shape, an inner section 825inwardly extending from the tip of the abutment section 824, and a guidesection 826 outwardly protruding from the tip of the inner section 825.At the other end of the bottom surface 823 are formed a guide section827 inwardly projecting from the other end, and a flap section 828folded by bending the tip of the guide section 827.

The guide sections 814, 821, 826 and 827 prevent the positions of thesurfacing material 802 and the backing material 822 shown in FIGS. 39(a)and (b) from deviating from predetermined superimposing positions at thetime when these materials are superimposed as shown in FIG. 38. Thisincreases the dimensional accuracy of the refractory/heat insulatingpanel 801 and prevents liquid from leaking which may occur when foamingis effected to produce the core material 829 made of synthetic resinfoam.

The core material 829 is made of a plastic foam 830 in which inorganicboards 831 are disposed at its both ends. The plastic foam 830 acts as aheat insulating material, a fire resistant material, an adhesivematerial, a reinforcing material, a buffering material, a soundabsorbing material, a volume increasing material, a weight reducingmaterial and the like.

Unfoamed raw materials of the plastic foam 830 are supplied between thesurfacing material 802 and the backing material 822, and are allowed toreact to foam, thereby combining all the structural materials. As aconcrete example, the structure described in the first embodiment ispreferred.

As the core material 829, foams in which long or short fibers (glasswool, rock wool, carbon fibers, graphite and the like) are uniformlydispersed or locally placed may be used.

The inorganic board 831 is used for enhancing the fire resistance of thejoint portion 800γ which will be described later. The inorganic board831 includes an elongated material made of one or more materialsselected from a calcium silicate board, a calcium carbonate board, aplaster board, a pearlite cement board, a rock wool board, a slateboard, an ALC board, a PC board, other light-weight inorganic materials,light-weight inorganic foaming materials, composite boards of theseboards and materials, and super high density resins such as high densityphenol foam. The inorganic boards 831 are formed to have a rectangular,square, circular or polygonal shape, and integrally disposed as insertedinto the stationary convex section 813, and the insertion convex portion820.

The inorganic board 831, for example, has a shape shown in FIG. 40, andthe thickness t thereof ranges from about 3 to 100 mm while the width Wthereof ranges from about 5 to 200 mm. As to the length L of the board,a single elongated inorganic board or a plurality of short inorganicboards are formed depending on the length of the refractory/heatinsulating panel 801. The shape of the inorganic boards 831 is notlimited to the above-described shapes, and may be modified to haveshapes corresponding to those of the inner sides of the male jointportion 832 and the female joint portion 836 so that the inorganicboards 831 entirely occupy the joint portions.

The male joint portion 832 is a side portion which is formed by thestationary convex section 813, the guide section 814, the abutmentsection 824, and the inner section 825, which are united by the corematerial 829. The male joint portion 832 has a step portion 833 which isformed by depressing one side edge of the decorative surface portion 803so as to receive a cover portion 837 of the female joint portion 836such that the cover portion 837 is flush with the decorative surfaceportion 803 without projecting therefrom. The male joint portion 832also has an upper protrusion 834 for acting as a guide and forincreasing engagement force, and an insertion concave portion 835engageable with the insertion convex section 820.

The female joint portion 836 is formed by the insertion groove 819, theinsertion convex section 820, and the guide section 827 which are unitedby the core material 829. The female joint portion 836 has a coverportion 837 for covering the step portion 833, an insertion groove 838having a U-like cross section, and a main convex portion 839 which willbe fitted into the insertion concave portion 835.

Numeral 840 denotes an inorganic packing material made of, for example,a rock wool felt, ceramic wool, etc. The inorganic packing material 840prevents the formation of crevices at the joint portion 800γ at the timewhen a refractory construction test is carried out, thereby preventingflames from entering. The inorganic packing material is useful forproviding functions as a refractory material, a material having airtightness, and the like.

Numeral 841 denotes a waterproofing packing material selected fromcommercially available materials such as of polyvinyl chloride type,chloroprene type, chlorosulfonated polyethylene type, ethylene propylenetype, and asphalt impregnated polyuretane type. The waterproof materialis useful for providing functions mainly as a waterproof material, anair-tight material, and the like.

To describe more specifically, in the cases where the core material 829is made of a phenol foam or the like, the inorganic board 832 absorbscondensed water produced during reaction, thereby preventing theadhesive force between the surfacing material 802 and the core material829 or between the core material 829 and the backing material 822 fromdecreasing. As a result, these materials will not be separated, and thesurfacing material 802 and the backing material 822 are prevented fromswelling or warping. Thus, the panel can be maintained flat.

The triangular space 800a formed in the stationary convex section 813 isprovided for discharging condensed water absorbed in the inorganic board831 from vertical joints formed at both ends of the refractory/heatinsulating panel 801 or from other portions. This structure prevents theinorganic board 831 from deteriorating, and also prevents water fromremaining inside the refractory/heat insulating panel 801, therebypreventing the mechanical strength of the refractory/heat insulatingpanel 801 itself from lowering.

The slanted surfaces 809 and 810 and the slanted surfaces 816 and 817are formed for securing easy assembly even when the side edge 806 abutson the stationary convex section 813 during the time when an upperrefractory/heat insulating panel 801 is placed on a lowerrefractory/heat insulating panel 801 for assembly, as shown in FIG. 41.With this structure, the assembly can be greatly facilitated.

Next, an example of assembly will be briefly described. An assumption ismade that the refractory/heat insulating panel 801 shown in FIG. 38 isassembled in a manner shown in FIG. 42. A water drip, a starter and thelike are fixed to the lower end of the frame 800α made of an ironskeleton substrate although they are not illustrated in FIG. 42. Asshown in the drawing, an n-th refractory/heat insulating panel 801 isfixed to the frame 800α by hammering the fixture 800B against the frame800α at a location in the fixation groove 811.

Subsequently, the female joint portion 836 of an (n+1)-threfractory/heat insulating panel 801 is placed on the male joint portion832 of the refractory/heat insulating panel 801. Accordingly, in orderto form an exterior wall, the above-described step is successivelycarried out from the ground sill toward the caves.

An example of a method of manufacturing the above-describedrefractory/heat insulating panel 801 is shown in FIG. 43. First, asurfacing material 802 made, for example, of a color steel sheet (havinga thickness of 0.5 mm) is fed from a supply step A" (for example, anuncoiler or a lifter) to a forming step B" in which the surfacingmaterial 802 is formed in a shape shown in FIG. 38. Subsequently,elongated calcium silicate panels having a thickness of 10 mm and awidth of 50 mm are inserted from both lateral sides in an inorganicboard forming step C". The surfacing material 802 is then transported toa raw material-delivering step D" in which a stock solution 829a of thecore material 829 is delivered from a delivering machine E" to the backsurface 802a of the surfacing material 802 to obtain a final density ofabout 150 to 300 Kg/m³. The starting liquid 829a is obtained by mixingvarious flame-retardants and reaction adjusting agents into an unfoamedliquid of resol type phenol, and uniformly stirring them. A backingmaterial 822 made of a color steel sheet (having a thickness of 0.5 mm)supplied from the supply step F" (uncoiler, lifter or the like) isformed in a molding step G", and is then superimposed on the surfacingmaterial 802, which is then transported to a cure oven H" in whichcuring is effected at a temperature of about 30° to 100° C. for 7 to 15minutes by a continuous foaming process so that the liquid foams andhardens, thereby unifying the materials. The thus obtained material isthen cut into a predetermined size by a cutter I", and is then fed to apackaging step J", thereby affording final products.

A 1-hour refractory construction test of JIS-A-1304 was performed tocheck the refractory performance of the mounting structure of therefractory/heat insulating panel 801. As a result, it was confirmed thatthe the panel was given the properties passed the test. Therefractory/heat insulating panel 801 used in the test is such that thesurfacing material 802 and the backing material 822 are made of a colorsteel sheet having a thickness of 0.5 mm, the core material 829 is madeof a phenol foam (having a density of about 180 Kg/m³, and the inorganicboard 831 is made of a calcium silicate board having an entire thicknessof about 60 mm. Further, an inorganic packing material 840 made of rockwool felt is continuously formed at the joint portion 800γ.

The above-described refractory/heat insulating panel is only an exampleaccording to the present invention, and the panels may be formed asshown in FIGS. 44(a) through 44(g).

Further, it is possible to form the core material 829 of therefractory/heat insulating panel 801 as shown in FIGS. 45(a) through45(e) to obtain refractory/heat insulating panels 801 having an enhancedfire resistance. In the examples shown in FIGS. 45(a) through 45(e),nonwoven fabrics 842 and 843 are interposed and bonded with an adhesive844 between the surfacing material 802 and the core material 829 orbetween the core material 829 and the backing material 822, orlight-weight aggregate 845 is filled at a high density using a plasticfoam 830 as a binder.

The nonwoven fabrics 842 and 843 are in the form of sheet made of fibersof polyester type, nylon type, boron type, carbon type, alumina type,silicon carbide type, aramid fibers, or glass fibers, and they havefunctions for increasing the mechanical strength of the panel 801,increasing the adhesion between the surfacing material 802 and the corematerial 829 or between the core material 829 and the backing material822, and improving the flatness of the surfacing material 802 and thebacking material 822.

Example of the adhesive 844 includes elastomer type epoxy resins; anemulsion type or hot melt type of isocyanates such as methylenediisocyanate (abbreviation: MDI), and modified isocyanates thereof suchas urethane-modified isocyanate, buret-modified isocyanate andisocyanurate-modified isocyanate, and one kind of the above adhesives isused.

Light-weight aggregate 845 is made of particles of pearlite, glassbeads, plaster slag, talc, shirasu balloons or the like. In the examplesshown in FIG. 45(c) through FIG. 45(e), particles of pearlite having adiameter of about 5 to 20 mm are used to improve the fire preventingfunction and the refractory function of the core material 829 and themechanical strength of the panel 801.

Refractory/heat insulating panels 1000 shown in FIG. 46 through FIG. 49are modified examples of the above-described embodiments. In thesemodified embodiment, inorganic boards are formed integrally in the malejoint portion and the female joint portion. Numeral 1001 denotes anoncombustible substrate material composed of a surfacing material 1001aand a backing material 1001b. Numeral 1002 denotes a core material, 1003in organic boards, 1004 a male joint portion, and 1005 a female jointportion.

Refractory/heat insulating panels 1100 shown in FIG. 50 through FIG. 53are further modified examples of the above-described embodiments. Inthese modified embodiments, a packing material made of EPDM (which hasexcellent performances in weather resistance, heat resistance,resistance to ozone and resistance to chemicals) is formed in thefixation grooves, thereby greatly improving their waterproofingperformance. Numeral 1101 denotes a noncombustible substrate materialcomposed of a surfacing material 1101a and a backing material 1101b.Numeral 1102 denotes a core material, 1103 in organic boards, 1104 amale joint portion, 1105 a female joint portion, and numeral 1106 apacking material.

Further, FIG. 54 shows an embodiment in which an air ventilating hole832a communicating with a space adjacent to the inorganic board 831 ofthe female joint portion is formed so as to release outside thecondensed water discharged from the core material 829 and toxic gassesproduced during a refractory construction test.

Application of a waterproof film to the butt end surface and squarebending at the butt end (FIG. 55)

In the above-described embodiments, if paints are applied to the buttend surfaces, or a sheet in the form of a thin film is placed thereon,they can effectively prevent rain or the like from entering inside thepanel through the butt end surfaces. Since this technique can be easilyunderstood by those having ordinary knowledge in the art withoutdrawings, drawings are omitted.

Further, as shown in FIG. 55, the tip of the surfacing material 901located at a butt end surface of a refractory/heat insulating panel 900Ais bent toward the core material 903 to form a bent flap section 928.The bent flap section 928 acts as a portion to which caulking material900D acts as an adhering portion when the caulking material 900D isfilled in vertical joint formed between left-hand and right-handrefractory/heat insulating panels 900A. Also, the bent section 928 actsto increase the mechanical strength of the surfacing material 901 andthe flatness of the panel. In FIG. 55, numeral 900B denotes a joinerhaving a hat-like shape, which is made by a similar manner as applied tothe surfacing material 901 with a similar material, 900C a back-upmaterial made of a noncombustible inorganic material, 900α a frame and900β a fixture.

Mounting structure of refractory/heat insulating panels (FIG. 56 throughFIG. 62)

An example of mounting structures for the refractory/heat insulatingpanels according to the above-described embodiments will be describedbelow in detail.

FIG. 56 and FIG. 57 are a perspective view and a horizontal sectionalview showing a typical example of mounting structures according to thepresent invention. The mounting structure of the present exampleincludes a refractory/heat insulating panel AZ, a mounting bracket BZ, afixation bracket CZ and a substrate material DZ. The panel AZ is arefractory/heat insulating panel which is made from materials as used inthe above-described embodiment and which has a sandwich structurecomposed of a surfacing material 1Z, a backing material 17Z and a corematerial 20Z, as shown in FIG. 58(a).

To describe in more detail, in the surfacing material 1Z, agutter-shaped portion 1aZ is formed by a laterally elongated decorativesurface portion 2Z, a male joint portion 6Z and a female joint portion12Z, as shown in FIG. 58(b). The decorative surface portion 2Z isprovided with a side walls 3Z and 4Z which are formed by inwardlybending the longitudinal ends of the decorative surface 2aZ at arbitraryangles, and a joint substrate 5Z outwardly projecting from the lower endportion of the side wall 3Z. The male joint portion 6Z includes aninsertion edge 7Z composed of an upper edge 8Z outwardly projecting fromthe tip of the joint substrate 5Z and a lower edge 9Z formed by inwardlybending the tip of the upper edge 8Z in an approximately inverted U-likeshape, a concave groove 10Z formed in the upper edge 8Z of the insertionedge 7Z, and a reinforcing section 11Z formed by inwardly bending thetip of the lower edge 9Z in an L-like shape.

As shown in FIG. 57, the insertion edge 7Z is inserted into an insertiongroove 15Z of a female joint portion 12Z which will be described laterso as to be fixed to the substrate material DZ. The insertion edge 7Z isalso inserted into a fixation groove 28Z of the mounting bracket BZ tobe united therewith. The concave groove 10Z is a portion to which afixation groove 29Z of the mounting bracket BZ is attached, and forms anair gap in the joint portion, thereby preventing occurrence of thecapillary phenomenon so as to enhance the waterproofness.

The female joint portion 12Z includes an upper surface 13Z formed byinwardly bending the lower edge portion of the side wall 4Z, a lowersurface 14Z formed by outwardly bending the tip of the upper surface13Z, the insertion groove 15Z formed between the upper surface 13Z andthe lower surface 14Z to have an approximately inverted U-like crosssectional shape, and a reinforcing section 16Z inwardly extending fromthe tip of the lower surface 14Z. The insertion groove 15Z is engagedwith the insertion edge 7Z of the male joint portion 6Z so as to fix thepanel AZ to the substrate material DZ. Step portions 2bZ and 2cZ formedon the decorative surface 2aZ provide a three-dimensional shape to thejoint portion and make the shape of the joint portion outstanding bymaking the decorative joint a step-like shape, thereby improving itsdesign quality.

As shown in FIG. 58(c), the backing material 17Z is made of an elongatedplate, and is provided at its one end with an inner section 18Z which isapproximately parallel to the plate and is inwardly bent in an L-likeshape, and at its other end with an outer section 19Z which isapproximately parallel to the plate and is outwardly bent in an L-likeshape. In the drawing, the tips of the inner section 18Z and the outersection 19Z are bent to form stabilizing sections 18aZ and 19aZ, whichact as guide surfaces at the time of engagement, and also act as dies inthe manufacturing process. These sections form a gutter-shaped portion17aZ. The backing material 17Z covers the back surface of the corematerial 20Z to form the panel AZ having a sandwich structure, therebyincreasing the mechanical strength of the panel AZ itself and acting asan noncombustible sheet, a waterproof film, a heat insulating sheet, awater absorbing sheet, a sound insulating sheet, a packing material orthe like. Examples of materials suitable for the backing material 17Zinclude a metallic material having a similar quality as that of thesurfacing material 1Z, asbestos paper, kraft paper, asphalt felt, metalfoils (Al, Fe, Pb, Cu), synthetic resin sheet, rubber sheet, fabricsheet, plaster paper, aluminum hydroxide paper, nonwoven fabric of glassfibers, materials obtained by laminating one kind or two kinds or moreof the above-described materials, and sheets subjected to waterprooftreatment or flame-retardant treatment.

The surfacing material 1Z and the backing material 7Z are unitedtogether with the core material 20Z so that a female solid portion 21Zhaving a concave cross section is formed by the lower edge 9Z and theinner section 18Z, and a male solid portion 22Z having a convex crosssection is formed by the lower surface 14Z and the outer section 19Z. Asshown in FIG. 56 and FIG. 57, the joining between the panels AZ isachieved by assembling them such that the insertion edge 7Z is engagedwith the insertion groove 15Z via the mounting bracket BZ and the malesolid portion 22Z is inserted into the female solid portion 21Z. Theinner section 18Z and the outer section 19Z of the backing material 17Zare provided to greatly increase the fire resistance, the waterproofingperformance and the air tightness at the joint portion. In the case offire, flames are prevented from entering and reaching the back surface17bZ. This makes the panel AZ pass a refractory test.

BZ is a mounting bracket which is formed by press working, bending orthe like using a similar material as used for the surfacing material 1Z,or a steel material, etc. An example of the mounting bracket is shown inFIG. 59(a), FIG. 59(b) which is a sectional view along line A--A of FIG.59(a), and FIG. 59(c) which is a development elevation. As shown inthese drawings, the mounting bracket BZ is composed of a fixationportion 26Z having an approximately U-like cross section and aengagement portion 27Z. The fixation portion 26Z is composed of anabutment section 23Z having a vertical flat shape, fixation sections 24Zformed by substantially perpendicularly bending one of the right andleft side edges of the abutment section 23Z, an engagement groove 25Zformed by substantially perpendicularly bending the other side edge andfurther bending it inwardly to give the engagement groove 25Z ahook-like cross section. The engagement portion 27Z is formed by bendingthe lower edge portion of the abutment section 23Z in a horizontaldirection. The engagement portion 27Z is formed in a shape correspondingto the shapes of the male solid portion 22Z and the male joint portion6Z, and has an engagement section 28Z and a fixation groove 29Z.

Further, as shown in FIG. 59(b), the engagement groove 25Z is provedwith reinforcement ribs 30Z made of one or more convex grooves, concavegrooves, or the like. The reinforcement ribs 30Z increase the strengthof the mounting bracket BZ, thereby preventing the engagement groove 25Zfrom opening even when a pulling-force is imposed from the outside afterthe engagement groove 25Z is engaged with an flap section D₃ Z of thesubstrate material DZ which will be described later. Accordingly, themounting bracket BZ is prevented from falling down from the substratematerial. As shown in the drawings, the fixation section 24Z is providedwith prepared holes 24aZ through which the mounting fixtures CZpenetrate. As shown in the, development, elevation of FIG. 59(c), it ispreferred that the corners between the abutment section 23Z and theengagement portion 27Z have a curved shape (round shape). When apulling-force toward the surface of the panel AZ is imposed on theengagement portion 27Z, the pulling-force is spread due to the curvedshape. Accordingly, the strength of the mounting bracket BZ can bedrastically increased. As shown in FIG. 56 and FIG. 57, the fixationsection 24Z is a portion which is fixed to a rear portion D, Z by usingthe mounting fixture CZ such as rex, hex, screw vis and the like, or bywelding (not shown) or other methods. As shown in FIG. 59, it ispreferred to form lower holes 24aZ in advance. The engagement portion27Z is composed of the engagement section 28Z and the fixation groove29Z and has a shape approximately the same as the shape from the concavegroove 10Z to the inner section 18Z of the male joint portion 6Z of thepanel AZ. The engagement portion 27Z is interposed in the joint portionbetween two panels AZ and is engaged therewith, as shown in FIG. 57.

The mounting fixture CZ is a screw vis, tex, hex, or the like, and isused for integrating a fixing surface 24Z of the mounting bracket BZ andthe rear portion D₁ Z of the substrate material DZ made of a C-shapedsteel material. The fixation of the mounting bracket BZ to the substratematerial DZ can be made by welding between metallic materials althoughit is not illustrated in the drawings. As the substrate material DZ, aC-shaped steel material having a rear portion D₁ Z, a side portion D₂ Z,and an flap portion D₃ Z is used as shown in FIG. 56 and FIG. 57.

Next, an example of assembly will be briefly described. An assumption ismade that the mounting bracket BZ shown in FIG. 59 and the panel AZshown in FIG. 58(a) are used for effecting assembly such that panelshorizontally extend as shown in FIG. 36 and FIG. 57. The mountingbracket BZ is formed of a stainless steel plate having a thickness ofabout 0.6 mm. In order to fix the male joint portion 6Z of an n-th panelA1Z to the substrate material made of the C-shaped steel, the engagementgroove 25Z of the mounting bracket BZ is fitted onto the flap portionD3Z of the substrate material while the engagement portion 27Z is placedover the insertion edge 7Z.

Next, the fixation section 24Z is fixed to the rear portion D, Z of thesubstrate member DZ using the mounting fixture CZ made of a screw vis.Subsequently, (n+1)-th panel A₂ Z is hung down from the roof floor ofthe building by a crane, winch, or the like, and is placed on the n-thpanel A₁ Z such that the engagement groove 15Z of the female jointportion 12Z of the (n+1)-th panel A₂ Z engages the insertion edge 7Z ofthe panel A₁ Z via the engagement portion 27Z of the mounting bracketBZ. With this process, the panels AZ are mounted to the substrate memberDZ from the back side of the panel AZ, i.e., from the inside of theroom. To completely form the wall, the above-described assembling workis successively performed from the ground sill toward the caves. It isnecessary to provide a water drip (not shown) for ground sill portions.Further, it is necessary to apply a caulking material or to attachaccessories to projected corners, recessed corners, vertical jointportions, and the like.

The above-described is an example of the mounting structure of panelsfor buildings, and the panel AZ can be modified to have cross sectionsshown in FIGS. 60(a) through 60(f). Especially, in the example shown inFIG. 60(f), EZ is a packing material which is embedded in the femalesolid portion 21Z and the male solid portion 22Z, and which is a foamedmaterial made from a soft silicone, rubber, plastic or the like.

FIG. 61 and FIG. 62 show modifications of the mounting bracket BZ. Inthe example shown in FIG. 61(a), convex reinforcement ribs 30Z areformed on the abutment section 23Z and the fixation section 24Z as well.In the example shown in FIG. 61(b), a reinforcement rib 30Z is alsoformed to extend from the abutment portion 23Z to the engagement portion27Z over the circumferential portion thereof. In the example shown inFIG. 61(c), reinforcement ribs 30Z are formed to extend from theabutment portion 23Z to the bent portions of the fixation portion 26Z.In the example shown in FIG. 61(d), there is formed a bent portion 26aZwhich is formed by bending an outer edge portion extending from thelower end of the fixation portion and the end of the engagement portion27Z, thereby increasing the strength of the mounting bracket BZ. FIG.62(a) through FIG. 62(c) show examples in which the shape of theengagement portion 27Z is changed. FIG. 62(d) shows an example of themounting bracket BZ which is used for the symmetrical mounting. FIG.63(a) through FIG. 63(c) show examples in which the shape of theengagement portion 27Z is changed.

Industrial Applicability

In the refractory/heat insulating panels according to the presentinvention, the mechanical strength, especially the mechanical strengthof the joint portion can be greatly increased as compared with theconventional ones, and the fire resistance is also greatly increased.Accordingly, the panels can easily pass the 1-hour refractoryconstruction test of JIS-A-1304. Further, since the adhesion between thesurfacing material and the core material or between the core materialand the backing material are strong, no separations occur among thematerials. In addition, the surfacing material and the backing materialwill not have deformation such as swelling and warping. The panels haveexcellent effects including increase in the engagement force betweenpanels. Therefore, they markedly enhance the safety of the buildings,structures, and the like.

We claim:
 1. A refractory/heat insulating panel having an integratedstructure in which a core material including, as a main component, aplastic foam which itself has noncombustible properties equal to orsuperior to a quasi-noncombustible material is filled between asurfacing material and a backing material, each having a square shapeand being noncombustible, and in which a male joint portion is providedat one of opposing sides, a female joint portion is provided at theother side, and the refractory/heat insulating panel is mountable on abuilding frame in a position such that the male joint portion of saidrefractory/heat insulating panel and the female joint portion of asecond like panel may engage each other,wherein the male joint portionis provided with an upper protrusion having a predetermined thicknessand extended from a decorative surface portion of the surfacingmaterial, with a step of a thickness sufficient to receive the femalejoint portion being formed between the decorative surface portion andthe upper protrusion, and an insertion concave portion which has apredetermined width and which is formed adjacent to a back side of theupper protrusion, said upper protrusion being provided with a fixationgroove which is formed at a side portion of the upper protrusion closerto the decorative surface portion and has a sufficient depth forreceiving a head portion of a fixture in a state where the fixture isattached to the building frame, and a slanted surface portion formed ata tip portion of a cover portion located outside with respect to thefixation groove and which slants toward the back side, wherein aninorganic board is entirely disposed within the upper protrusion to forma space between the inner surface of the slanted surface portion and theinorganic board, and wherein the female joint portion is provided withsaid cover portion which adjoins the decorative surface portion of thesurfacing material and has a thickness corresponding to the amount ofsaid step at the male joint portion, an insertion groove which is formedadjacent to a back side of said cover portion and has a shapecorresponding to the shape of the tip portion of said upper protrusion,and a main convex portion which is formed adjacent to the insertiongroove at a side closer to the back side of the panel and has a shapecorresponding to the shape of said insertion concave portion, wherein aninorganic board is entirely disposed within the main convex portion,whereby, at the time when a second like refractory/heat insulating panelis joined with said refractory/heat insulating panel, which has alreadybeen mounted to a building frame with a fixture penetrating to the sidefacing the building frame through said fixation groove, in such a waythat the female joint portion of said next refractory/heat insulatingpanel engages the male joint portion of said refractory/heat insulatingpanel, the tip portion of said cover portion is guided by the slantedsurface portion of said upper protrusion so that said cover portion issmoothly passed over the head portion of the fixture and is brought intoa jointed state in which the cover portion covers the side portion ofthe upper protrusion, and the upper protrusion is received by theinsertion groove while said main convex portion is received by theinsertion concave portion.
 2. The refractory/heat insulating panelaccording to claim 1, in combination with an inorganic packing material,wherein when the male joint portion of said panel is joined with themain convex portion of the female joint portion of a second like panel,said inorganic packing material is interposed between the insertionconcave portion of the male joint portion of said panel and said mainconvex portion of the female joint portion of said second panel.
 3. Therefractory/heat insulating panel according to claim 1, wherein therefractory/heat insulating panel is in combination with a waterproofpacking material positioned so that it will be interposed between theupper protrusion of the male joint portion of said panel and the coverportion of the female joint portion of a second like panel when joinedtherewith.
 4. The refractory/heat insulating panel according to claim 1,wherein a packing material made of EPDM is provided in the fixationgroove of the male joint portion.
 5. The refractory/heat insulatingpanel according to claim 1, wherein the core material is formed bymixing 50 to 300 parts by weight of aluminum hydroxide, 1 to 25 parts byweight of ammonium polyphosphate, 2 to 30 parts by weight of graphite, 2to 50 parts by weight of a foaming agent, and 10 to 50 parts by weightof a curing agent, all based on 100 parts by weight of phenol foam,followed by allowing the mixture to foam and cure, to be filled in thepanel.
 6. The refractory/heat insulating panel according to claim 1,wherein the core material is filled such that the density at the maleand female joint portions is higher than that at the center of thepanel.
 7. The refractory/heat insulating panel according to claim 1,wherein a nonwoven fabric is interposed between the core material and atleast one of the surfacing material and the backing material.
 8. Therefractory/heat insulating panel according to claim 1, wherein alight-weight aggregate is closely filled at least in the core materialof the male and female joint portions.
 9. The refractory/heat insulatingpanel according to claim 1, wherein a surface of at least one of thesurfacing material corresponding to the decorative surface portion whichfaces the core material and the backing material corresponding to thedecorative surface portion which faces the core material is embossed.10. The refractory/heat insulating panel according to claim 1, wherein alayer of at least one of isocyanurate foam and polyurethane foam isprovided in the core material.
 11. The refractory/heat insulating panelaccording to claim 1, wherein a wooden reinforcing material is embeddedin the core material.
 12. The refractory/heat insulating panel accordingto claim 1, wherein a pipe-shaped member capable of passing airtherethrough is buried in the core material.
 13. A mounting structurebetween a refractory/heat insulating panel and a substrate material, inwhich the refractory/heat insulating panel is formed by filling a corematerial between a surfacing material and a backing material, bothhaving a square shape and being noncombustible, in which a male jointportion is provided at one of opposing sides, a female joint portion isprovided at the other side, and mutual connection of panels is achievedby engagement between the male and female joint portions, and in whichthe substrate material is a C-shaped steel material which has a rearportion having vertical flat shape, side portions perpendicular to saidrear portion, and a flap sections formed by inwardly bending a tipportions of the side portion,wherein the refractory/heat insulatingpanel is fixed to the substrate material by using a mounting bracketcomposed of a fixation portion and an engagement portion, the fixationportion being provided with a setting section corresponding to a sideportion of the C-shaped steel material, a fixation section extendingfrom one end of said setting section and corresponding to the rearportion of the C-shaped steel material, and an engagement section whichis formed by being extended from the other end of the setting section tocorrespond to the flap section of the C-shaped steel material, andfurther bending a tip portion of the bent portion in a hook-like shape,said engagement section being engageable with said flap section; and theengagement portion extending from the setting section of the fixationportion in a direction opposite to the direction in which the fixationsection and the engagement section extend, and having a shapecorresponding to the shapes of the male and female joint portions of therefractory/heat insulating panel, and wherein refractory/heat insulatingpanels are joined by engaging the male joint portion and the femalejoint portion so that the engagement portion of the mounting bracket isinterposed between the male joint portion and the female joint portionof refractory/heat insulating panels to be joined, an engagement grooveportion of the mounting bracket is fitted on the flap section of theC-shaped steel material, and the fixation section is fixed to the rearportion of the C-shaped steel material with a fixture.
 14. Therefractory/heat insulating panel according to claim 13, wherein one ormore reinforcing ribs having a concave or convex shape are formed on theengagement section of the mounting bracket.